Assault On Kyodo Reporters Is Reprehensible

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China strongly condemns the assault by unidentified people on three reporters working for Japan’s Kyodo News Agency.

According to Kyodo, the three journalists were attacked, hit and pushed to the ground on the evening of Sept. 18. Some of their equipment was also damaged.

The three were covering a rehearsal for the Oct. 1 National Day parade, an event carried out on Beijing’s biggest street in front of thousands of people.

In recent weeks, many Beijing-based journalists have been verbally warned by the authorities not to film the preparations or to open windows overlooking the parades. The legal basis for these warnings has not been made clear.

The FCCC calls on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify, in writing, any rules it has regarding coverage of these events.

“This attack is a step backward in China’s efforts to open up the reporting environment. We urge restraint on the part of authorities, who must follow China’s own rules allowing foreign journalists to report freely,” said FCCC President Scott McDonald.